June One-Shot Adventure Notes
To Do: Outline Party is approached with an offer to do a job, as they are on the road to somewhere. They must free this village of a curse that has taken them, and is slowly sapping the strength and will to live from their citizens. * Party tracks down what might be responsible, through either watching and waiting, or clues. Events happen at night, or around specifically weak people. * The old and the newborn are being targeted first. If the killings go on long enough, the young will also start to have their life-force sapped. * Party investigates and follows the cult / group / individuals responsible. A couple of encounters with these entities can teach the party what their abilities and weaknesses are, and determine whether the group knows their cover is blown or not. * Party investigates their hideout, which is protected by a number of traps and trials. The energy is being leeched into soul-stones, and siphoned from them into an atrocity that they are trying to create. * The group is forced to activate / wake their atrocity, not nearly at full strength, to defend themselves. This is the boss fight. Should be simple, but with one or two unique abilities. * The final step is to liberate the soul energy from the soulstones. The ritual for this is also a puzzle which the party must figure out by investigating the lab. * The party is rewarded with gold from the town and precious stones that the ritual casters had kept for soulstones. Setting The party is a band that has come together for safety on the unpredictable road, traveling in the same direction, towards a large city/seaport named Varros'kal, for one reason or another. They've spent a couple of weeks of travel together by this point, and have occasionally accepted pay in exchange for odd jobs for local villages along the route, as traveling bands often do in this society. The party is about half a day's travel from the village of Kelricstead. Detailed Background / Setting A cult that is experimenting with soul magic has moved in to an abandoned manor on the edge of town, using a frontman as cover, about 4 months ago. This frontman claims to be Elias Wimbledon, a black sheep of his wealthy family who took his inheritance and struck out on his own with a small number of servants and possessions. They rode into town with three carts, laden with boxes and furniture, claimed the manor, and began setting up shop there. Since that time he's made a living as a jeweler, doing commissions for anyone who can pay. He also goes on frequent extended trips to the city to sell his wares there. (Really the jeweling business is also a front - he makes soul gems that siphon soul energy, and sells them to people.) The gems that have been sold to villagers, as well as others that have been secretly placed about the town, are all siphons that feed a central gem. This gem powers a construct that the cult has been working on. NPCs The Traveling Family * Albrick Fahlei (Father) -- Quiet, lover of books, hopes to be a great writer yet * Jordi Fahlei (Mother) -- Outspoken, works hard and parties hard, driving force of the family * Hakoda (oldest, male, age 14) -- Thoughtful, loves nature, will someday be a nature cleric * Ren (twin, female, age 9) -- Inquisitive, insensitive, a bit bossy * Ran (twin, male, age 9) -- Much like his sister but quieter, more inclined to mischief The Town * Ignian Kell -- Mayor, female gnome. On in years, fears that she may be next to go * Thid -- Innkeeper, male half-orc. Round, jovial fellow, sorta suspicious of the whole business. Knows a lot of the gossip around town, but hates to speak ill of anyone. '' * Myra Proudfoot -- ''Halfling female, gossip, if it is suggested to her that it could be unnatural, she will blame the gypsy The Deceased * Nestor Koggs -- Dwarf age ~160. The old blacksmith of the village. In his prime. * Elmyra, of House Cavren -- Half-elven woman, 150, low-level druid gypsy, lived in a cart by the outskirts of town. Was the first to die. In Poor Health * Halya O'Keef -- Sturdy human woman of age 30, Blacksmith's apprentice for 20 years. * Lestriss Fahlei -- A gender non-binary gnome, older sibling of Albrick. Works as a baker. * Harmony Stout -- Female halfling, grocer, runs the store in town The Cult * Elias Wimbledon -- Halfling male noble, con artist. Also known as Silas Warrington. Great at deception, knows a couple of charm spells. * Bricker -- Half-orc male brute, leads a band of orcs that waylay people trying to leave the village. Hired mercenary. * Lythrian -- Male elf rogue, arcane trickster, spies on the town and plants the gems. '' * Askai -- ''Tiefling female mage, interested in soul magic. Hired or recruited the rest of the cult. On the run from the law. Has a couple of apprentices / acolytes that she intends to sacrifice eventually, but will help her in the meantime. * Several recruits, all of which are low-level casters. Clues / Ties * All the deaths have been of people who stay in one place most of their lives. Deaths are connected to places rather than people. * 20 Perception Party notices a spy following them on the rooftops (an arcane trickster of the cult). * The innkeep is suspicious of the people in the Manor. The lord comes and goes but doesn't interact too much with the townsfolk, and sometimes they hear strange sounds. * Gem Locations: ** Blacksmith's Shop: 18 brick building, gem is hidden behind a loose brick near the roof. ** Gypsy's wagon: 16 gem is hidden in a small chest in the earth, by where one of the wagon wheels was. ** Baker's Shop: 12, if on roof gem is hidden in the chimney, in a loose brick on the inside. ** Grocer's Shop: 18 gem is hidden under a floorboard, which can be seen to have been pried loose recently ** Encounters * (1) An ogre accosts a group of gnomes on the road to Kelricstead. * (2) The party catches and corners a rogue in the employ of the cult * (3) Manor - the manor has several recruits, Bricker and some of his brutes, Elias, and Askai. They can be encountered differently depending on what the party does. * (4) Boss - Askai's secret project, a golem powered by soul energy. The Manor Loot: * A magical device, gnome-built, that produces a constant illusory sound (max. 1 hour) at set times, which can be recorded. (Currently set to play the sound of bustle and arguing of Elias and his staff) * 50gp total * A bit of miscellaneous paper in the desk that contains old records of Askai's research, dated about a year ago to about 6 months ago. Certain entries refer to the library across the street, a feature that doesn't exist except in large cities, and the last entry is a hurried packing list of essentials for alchemical work on the soul siphons. * On a very good investigation check, the party might find an early blueprint for a soulforged golem in the desk. Traps: * Both chests contain poison traps (DC 14 to find, DC 12 to disarm) that deal 2d6+2 poison damage on being triggered, and cause the triggering creature to be Poisoned for 1 hour. (DC 13 Con save to avoid condition and 1/2 damage). * A tripwire is strung across the front entrance to the house that is hooked up to a bell in the basement. * The back door has a needle trap if someone pushes the handle down. This deals 1d4+1 poison damage, and the affected creature must make a DC 12 Con save or be poisoned for 30 minutes. * The desk is trapped in the same way if a creature lifts the handle on the center drawer. Category:Notes